The Paxton Post

This year is flying by. It is hard to believe it is already December! I would like to take this opportunity to wish each of you a happy and healthy holiday season! I hope you enjoy time with loved ones during our winter break.

If you are moving during the month of December or January, please let the office know when your last day will be and where you are moving to. You can call the office, or send our building registrar, Melissa Hill, an email at mhill@cpsk12.org. Please let us know as soon as possible.

Every school year around this time, the question comes up about when it is too cold to have outdoor recess. Over the years we have considered a number of factors when trying to determine when to have indoor recess. In case of inclement weather, the building administrators will use temperature, wind chill, and playground conditions to determine if recess will be held inside or outside. Students should come to school prepared to go outside each day. Our district temperature guidelines are as follows:

-32-90 degrees — comfortable for outdoor play

-10-32 — use caution, may decrease outdoor time

-10 degrees or below — children should not go outside

Please note, these temperatures do include wind chill. Often children do not have the appropriate cold weather gear, especially to play in the snow.

We will be hosting a Winter Open House on Thursday, December 19 to celebrate what students have been learning. We are excited to host you in the classroom for 20 minutes and hope you can find to come during this busy time of year. (The schedule is listed below.)

Students will also have the opportunity to enjoy and/or participate in our annual Talent Show during the day on December 11. There will be a dress rehearsal for families to attend so watch for specific communication from Mr. Watson if your child is in the show! Students in grades 2-5 have had the opportunity to tryout during music. There will be 2 shows to ensure everyone can attend one of the showings, We are excited to celebrate students' talents.

Have a wonderful, safe winter break! We look forward to seeing you in the new year! Students will return on January 6. Please contact our office if you have any questions. You are always welcome to contact me directly with questions or concerns regarding Paxton Keeley or your student(s). I can be reached by phone, 214-3570 or e-mail, apatton@cpsk12.org.

Remember, PTA provides a yearbook for every 5th grade student free of charge.

Visit the website, www.inter-state.com/order and use code 91310C.

Friday, December 6 -- Spirit Day

Monday, December 9 -- Board of Education Meeting

Tuesday, December 10 -- PTA Meeting

Wednesday, December 11 -- Paxton's Got Talent (Student Show)

Friday, December 13 -- Spirit Day (Wear Ugly Sweaters or Red and Green)

Thursday, December 19 -- Winter Open House

Friday, December 20 -- Spirit Day (Wear Winter PJs)

Monday, December 23 -- Winter Break Begins

Monday, January 6 -- School Resumes

Friday, January 10 -- Spirit Day

School will be cancelled, or a 2-hour delayed start implemented after roads are tested. Should cancellation or a 2-hour delayed start be necessary, efforts will be made to notify radio and television stations by 6 a.m. If a decision can be made earlier than 6 a.m., the district will make every effort to do so. Information will also be sent via the district's parent messaging system, posted on the district’s website and on CPS-TV.

Parents may make the final decision regarding a child’s attendance. If the parent views the weather too severe or road conditions too dangerous, absences will be excused.

Difficulty in contacting parents usually prevents early dismissals, but under appropriate circumstances the district may dismiss early. On inclement weather days, please continue listening to local radio and television stations for news of early dismissal. Additionally, information will be sent via the district's parent messaging system.

Stay Informed

• Parents and guardians are automatically signed up to receive text, phone and email messages from your child's school and the district via the district's parent messaging system. If you are not receiving text messages and emails, please contact the registrar at your child’s school(s) to update your contact information. E-mail and text messages will be sent in the event of a weather cancellation to parents with correct contact information on file with their child’s school.
• Check the school district website at http://www.cpsk12.org.
• Tune in to CPS-TV on Mediacom 81 and Spectrum 985 or view lived and on-demand streaming on the CPS-TV Web site at https://www.cpsk12.org/cpstv. CPS-TV is also available on Roku, AppleTV and FireTV.

Columbia Public Schools will use an Alternative Method of Instruction (AMI) plan on days when school is not in session due to inclement weather during the 2024-25 school year. This is in response to new state law requirements. AMI will allow all Columbia Public Schools students to be engaged in learning on inclement weather days when conditions prevent schools from being in session. As done in prior years, we will inform families if school will not be in session due to inclement weather and that an AMI day is scheduled.

Please note the AMI offered for inclement weather days differs from what was required during the pandemic. Inclement weather AMI will not include the delivery of new content to students and will focus on review and study of material already taught. AMI instructional days count toward your student’s classwork and attendance.

We want to ensure every student is set up for success, so please be aware of the following:

• Paper AMI packets will be sent home with students in the coming days. The packet includes resources for learning for up to five AMI days. The choice boards are also available in through the CPS Student Portal and accessible through Schoology.
• When you receive your student’s paper materials, please store them somewhere where they will be readily accessible when they are needed.
• Students will keep the remainder of the packet at home for future AMI days.
• During AMI days, the delivery of special education and related services will be provided in accordance with the student's IEP. Additional information is available from your student’s case manager.
• Your student will be counted present for the AMI day the next time the teacher takes classroom attendance.

Additional information and answers to frequently asked questions are available on the AMI pages on the district website.

The Health office is in need of clothing. If you have any gently used clothing especially sizes 5-8 pants/underwear that could be donated to the Health office, it would be greatly appreciated. Stretchy waists accommodate more body types. In addition, if your child has borrowed clothing from the Health Office, please launder and return at your earliest convenience. If you have a child prone to accidents, we recommend you keep a spare set of clothing in your child's backpack. Thank you for all your help.

Flu season is approaching and the best way to prevent the flu is to be vaccinated. If your child was unable to receive the vaccine at school, the Columbia Health Department is providing the vaccine free of charge to all children 6 months to 18 years of age. Children who did not get the vaccine at school may receive free flu shots at the health department clinic, 1005 W. Worley St. Appointments can be scheduled by calling 573-874-7356.

After being vaccinated, the next best way to prevent the spread of the flu is hand washing. Washing your hands frequently helps prevent the spread of germs. You should wash your hands for at least 20 seconds, which would be humming the song “Happy Birthday” twice. Also, coughing into your sleeve instead of your hand will stop the germs from transferring to everything you touch. Teach your children these techniques as well.

With the start of cold and flu season, please remember that students are not allowed to carry any over-the-counter medications with them including, but not limited to: Tylenol, aspirin, and cough drops. If your child needs to take these medications at school, please stop by the office and complete the non-injectable medication form and have your doctor send or fax a note to us with dosing information. (Fax#: 573-214-3571)

We do our best each and every day to support students and evaluate students health and well-being. Please keep your child home if they are sick to reduce the spread of illness. You will be contacted by our health office, and students will be sent home sick when they exhibit the following symptoms:

• A temperature of 100.4 degrees or greater
• Vomiting with associated signs of illness
• Diarrhea
• Unusual or unexplained rash

Students may return to school when:

• Fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication
• Vomiting and/or diarrhea free for 24 hours
• Other conditions (rash, injury or health concern) subside or with a provider’s note

We would also like to extend an invitation to everyone inviting you to join us for our monthly PTA meetings. We meet and discuss upcoming events, share the teachers' grant requests, plan school-wide events, and have time to talk with the administrative team at Paxton to ask questions, share concerns or celebrate successes. We hope to see you on Tuesday, December 10 at 7:00 in the Media Center. Checkout and join our Paxton PTA Facebook Group to stay informed about the PTA's activities.

Our Staff Appreciation Committee, along with our 3rd grade families, will be hosting a Staff Appreciation Luncheon (Taco Bar) on Tuesday, December 17. Please sign up here if you are able to help.

The Paxton PTA is looking to collect items and monetary donations to create winter break fun/support kits for friends in need within our Paxton community. The PTA has the budget to fund a portion of this effort but if you'd like to consider helping so that we can reach more families click the link below. Monetary donations can be made to our venmo @paxtonkeeleypta1 or cash/checks made to Paxton PTA can be sent to the office attention winter break support. Monetary donations will be used to purchase items not collected with the sign up, winter weather gear/clothes and gift cards to the movies or Sky Zone. If you can help click here.

Please send items into the Paxton office by Friday, December 13th. Contact Samantha Thornton at sthornton9x9@gmail.com with any questions or concerns.

CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT PAXTON WINTER BREAK KITS

Kindergarten

Recess- 11:55 - 12:20

Lunch- 12:20 - 12:45

1st Grade

Recess- 10:35 - 11:00

Lunch- 11:00 - 11:25

2nd Grade

Recess- 12:20 -12:45

Lunch- 12:45 -1:10

3rd Grade

Recess- 11:25 - 11:50

Lunch- 11:50 - 12:15

4th Grade

Recess- 11:00 - 11:25

Lunch- 11:25 - 11:50

5th Grade

Recess- 12:45 - 1:10

Lunch- 1:10 - 1:35

Email: apatton@cpsk12.org
Website: https://www.cpsk12.org/Domain/23
Location: 201 Park De Ville Drive, Columbia, MO, USA
Phone: 573-214-3570